Not afraid to speak his mind, Robert De Niro stood on the stage of the 72nd annual Tony Awards and blasted Donald Trump.

Just before the actor introduced a musical performance by Bruce Springsteen, he said, “I’m going to say this. F**k Trump”.

“It’s no longer just down with Trump, it’s f**k Trump”.

The words were met with a mix of gasps, cheers and a standing ovation from the audience and two fists in the air from DeNiro.

US network CBS had a 10-second delay on the broadcast, therefore, the blast was bleeped out for those watching at home, however, subscribers to CBS' All Access streaming service and viewers in other countries saw the unedited version.